VARIATION IN BORDETELLA-BRONCHISEPTICA LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE DURING HUMAN INFECTION

We previously reported the case of a human chronic Bordetella bronchis eptica respiratory infection, due to contact with infected rabbits. Li popolysaccharides of the human isolates, of one rabbit isolate and of isolates from other origins were analyzed with sera from infected mice , rabbit and human. Antigenicity and length of the lipopolysaccharide molecules varied between isolates. We showed a progressive loss of O-c hain during infection, associated with an enhanced susceptibility of t he isolates to the bactericidal effect of normal serum. This observati on suggests the existence of an intracellular niche which selects for strains with distinct lipopolysaccharide types. (C) 1998 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V .